WAR IN UKRAINE: March 31, 2022 — Michael Bociurkiw

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 36

Less than 48 hours after the conclusion of high-stakes peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul, it turned out to be a terrorising day and evening for residents in many Ukrainian cities. One of the worst-hit was Chernihiv - a city the Russian forces pledged would see, along with Kyiv, reduced bombardment. According to the Kyiv Independent summary:

Russian forces blasted Kharkiv Oblast with Grad multiple rocket launcher systems 180 times on March 30. Over the past overnight on March 29-30, the Russian forced also shelled the oblast with artillery and mortars, damaging residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, according to governor Oleh Synehubov.
Russian strikes hit a Red Cross building in besieged Mariupol. The organization’s warehouse was hit by air strikes and artillery even though its roof is marked with a Red Cross symbol, “indicating the presence of wounded people or civilian or humanitarian cargo.”
Dnipro suffers missile strike, oil depot damaged. According to the chairman of the regional council Mykola Lukashuk, an oil depot and two fuel trucks were damaged during the Russian missile attack. No casualties were reported yet.
The Mayor of Chernihiv said his city came under 'colossal attack' after Russia pledged to halt assaults. “They actually have increased the intensity of strikes,” Vladyslav Atroshenko told CNN. He said the attacks injured 25 civilians.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he intends to hold a meeting between Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future - Ukrainska Pravda.
An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team is in Zaporizhzhia with pre-positioned relief items and medical supplies to be ready to facilitate the safe passage of civilians out of Mariupol and bring aid into the city. The Geneva-based organization said the team is ready to lead the safe passage operation tomorrow, Friday, “provided all the parties agree to the exact terms, including the route, the start time, and the duration. It’s desperately important that this operation takes place. The lives of tens of thousands of people in Mariupol depend on it.”
During a visit with foreign journalists to the Ukrainian-Polish border crossing at Krakovets today, I saw very few people crossing into Poland. Among the handful that did was a mother and her three children. They said they’d fled the increasingly dangerous situation in their hometown of Dnipro to go to Prague where relatives were awaiting their arrival. Like many Ukrainians who show up at the border they had no onward transport arranged but Polish border guards ferried them beyond the border control zone where they could step onto buses that provide free transport to major cities. Daily crossings of Ukrainians to neighboring EU countries have reportedly decreased to pre-war levels - about 50,000-a-day. People at the border told me that most of those who wanted to flee the war had already done so, while others stayed behind to seek safe havens on Ukrainian territory. One Ukrainian driver told me that as many as 50 percent of Ukraine’s children are now outside of Ukraine. “Once they start to get settled and enrolled in schools overseas, well the chances are they won’t return to Ukraine anytime soon. Add to that the hit the the economy, the huge mental health needs of our boys returning from gruesome scenes at the frontline and everything else - well there’s no saying when things will return to where they once were.”
A Polish customs official told me that just a few weeks ago the scene at this border crossing was one of complete chaos. Still, we could see tables with everything from chocolates and diapers to snacks and handy wipes for asylum seekers exiting Ukraine. Further into Polish territory we spotted tents manned by volunteers where help services were available (above).
In Poland there are signs of humanity everywhere: from the helpline number broadcast on huge highway LED signs to the small gestures of Polish border guards towards the exhausted and traumatized migrants. When Ukrainians cross the border they’re immediately greeted with a SMS message: “Escaping the war in Ukraine? Poland guarantees your protection.”